


M1 in H/C Major

by lancelitttle (lancelot2point0)



Category: BBC Merlin, Merlin (TV), Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Chronic Pain, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Merlin is very sad in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29581920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lancelot2point0/pseuds/lancelitttle
Summary: Merlin's first week in Camelot is really quite awful and he now has to deal with the results of it. Thankfully Gwen is there to help him.
Relationships: Gwen & Merlin (Merlin)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: Merlin Bingo





	M1 in H/C Major

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt Fill for Merlin Bingo, square M1
> 
> Merlin suffers from chronic pain in this fic, for reasons that are explained.  
> I have no personal experience with chronic pain, so if I've written something that is inaccurate, or that is offensive in any way, I apologise and would greatly appreciate it if you would let me know so I can fix it!

Merlin collapsed onto his bed, buried his face in his pillow and let out a yell. The pillow was not thick enough to sufficiently muffle the sound and Merlin was glad that Gaius was still out doing his rounds.   


It had only been a week since he was appointed as Arthur’s manservant, by a king who clearly had no idea how rewards were supposed to work, and he had already been to the stocks about ten times.   
He hurt all over. It was the stress, he knew this, and on top of that he had not had an opportunity to use his magic.   


It had started the summer that some of Cenred’s knights, if one could even call them that, had spent a month in Ealdor.He had been unable to use his magic in any way. Even the little trips he and Will used to take into the forest had been stopped. He had wondered if the soldiers or the pain would end him first. 

  
_ The pain had been manageable at first, his stomach would twist sharply, but not so bad that he couldn’t ignore it. Hunith had thought it was due to stress. She was right, in a way, but there was more to the pain than either of them had imagined.  _ _  
_ _ Soon his chest hurt and Merlin wondered if this was what it felt like to be run through with a sword. When the pain had spread through his whole body so every nerve had felt as if it were aflame, somewhere in the back of his mind he thought that at least he would be prepared if anyone found out what he was.  _ _  
_ _ By the time the knights left Ealdor, Merlin had not left the house for a week. He had barely been coherent, Hunith told him, frequently passing into unconsciousness, and she had been terrified. She had carried him into the woods, to a stream that he and Will generally played in and around. His eyes were glowing golden under his eyelids and his whole body seemed far too bright.   
_ _ For what felt like an eternity, nothing happened, then slowly the forest seemed to become a little greener. There were butterflies that Hunith had never seen the likes of before, the stream felt more alive and Merlin started to fade.   
_ _ At first Hunith thought he was dying and her heart clenched so painfully she thought it would burst. But then, Merlin opened his eyes and they were blue.  _

Here, however, he was sure that the Crown Prince would be the death of him. 

  
Arthur was a complete and utter prat. He did not care that Merlin had never set foot in any place bigger than Ealdor before coming to Camelot. He did not care that Merlin had no idea what his job was meant to entail, and he certainly wasn’t helping him figure it out. All he did was yell that Merlin was doing it wrong, never quite saying what ‘it’ was.    
On top of that Merlin had to put up with quite a lot of the other servants in the castle trying to get him fired, or executed - it did not matter either way to them, as long as he was gone. Then there were those servants who thought that roughing him up at every given opportunity was a great way to make him feel welcome in this strange place. 

He missed his mother and he missed Will. However, Merlin knew that to go back would not help matters. His mother had sent him to Camelot so he could learn to properly control his magic, which left unchecked was very likely to land him, and by association those he cared about in fire- hot, blistering fire. So no matter how angry he got at Arthur and no matter how bad his heart ached when he thought of home, he would stay here. 

Hearing a knock at the door, Merlin bit back a sob and furiously wiped at his eyes as the door opened.   
  


“Gaius? Merlin?”   
  


It was Gwen.   
  


“Here, Gwen.” Merlin grimaced as he heard the wobble in his voice.   
  


“Merlin,” Gwen slipped into his room, eyes widening as she took in Merlin’s state.   
  


He attempted a smile, but he could feel it was not happening and the next thing he knew, Gwen was hugging him. Merlin relaxed slowly as Gwen rubbed small circles on his back.   
  


A low rumbling sound cut through the silence of the room and both Gwen and Merlin started. The noise came again and Merlin grinned wryly.   
  


“Come on,” Gwen got up, taking Merlin’s hand, “I brought dinner.” 

* * *

By the time Gaius returned to his quarters, the sun had already set and Melin was nowhere to be seen or heard.    
There was however a plate of food on the table covered with a clean cloth, so he sat down.   
  


As he was finishing, Merlin walked in and grinned at him.  
  


“And where have you been?” Gaius wanted to sound unimpressed, but was too glad to see Merlin happy to put any real effort into it.   
  


“Walking Gwen home. Met her Da.”  
  


“I see,” Gaius raised his eyebrow, “Have you eaten today?”  
  


“Yeah, Gwen brought dinner! I think I’m going to sleep now though.” Merlin yawned, “Goodnight Gaius.”  
  


“Goodnight, Merlin.”  
  


The pain had eased to a dull ache now and Morpheus greeted him with ease. At the edges of his consciousness a gentle presence rippled, calling to him, not like the dragon had, but subtle and reassuring. He would look for it if he got the opportunity. 

* * *

“Good morning, Merlin!”   
  


Merlin jerked and fell off his bed.   
  


The man standing in his room continued as if nothing had happened, “I am George, and I will be teaching you everything you need to know in order to go above and beyond the expectations of his highness Prince Arthur.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading this! 
> 
> I originally wrote a version of this fic, intending to put it into TOAFQ, but something didn't feel right, so here we are. And a huge thank you to [RangeroftheSouth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RangeroftheSouth) for helping me figure this fic out !  
> If you wanna know what the deal with the fic title is.. you can find it here <https://lancelot2point0.tumblr.com/post/642174654709137408>  
> Anyways, drop a comment to let me know what you thought of this, I love hearing what you all think!  
> I'm on tumblr [@lancelitttle](https://lancelitttle.tumblr.com/) (main) or [@twosidesofthesameidiot](https://twosidesofthesameidiot.tumblr.com/) (devoted to BBC Merlin)
> 
> Stay safe and have a great day/night


End file.
